The numbers that matter
The big winners of Round 13 were...
Newcastle Jets after they moved into third position and took full advantage of top-two sides Auckland FC and Sydney FC both losing their weekend fixtures.
Few had marked them down for a finals appearance let alone anything greater given a young, fairly unknown squad managed by a first-time head coach (Mark Milligan).
But the values that Milligan is talking about week-to-week, such as hard work and the necessity of both suffering and triumphing on the pitch, appear to be generating a well-rounded machine that has put in some good defensive work - with the exception of the recent 5-4 loss to Macarthur, of course.
That was their only defeat from their last six matches, a period in which they defeated three other current top-six clubs.
It's time to start taking them very seriously as both a Premier's Plate and Championship threat, especially if they can avoid slip-ups at home to both Wellington and Brisbane in coming weeks.
An honourable mention must go to Brisbane Roar for their 2-1 away win at Perth Glory, which is never an easy trip let alone when your inspirational head coach has to go on personal leave late in the week. We wish Michael Valkanis and his family all the best.
The big losers of Round 13 were...
Western Sydney Wanderers, and Alen Stajcic in particular after another week of the same tired old excuses.
Sydney FC, Auckland and even Melbourne Victory faced various kinds of adversity in their defeats (red cards, penalties, disallowed goals) and so their losses could to some extent be forgiven and forgotten.
Western Sydney were coming off the back of a big win in Melbourne where they were rewarded for their on-field control of the ball.
This time, at home to Newcastle, it was a similar picture to a signficant portion of their season: they won the possession count, notched up the most shots on target, but came out on the wrong end of the one stat that matters.
They're third in the league for shot attempts but joint-last with Central Coast Mariners for accuracy (27%), whilst their opponents collectively are shooting with the second-highest accuracy (35%) of the competition.
That confirms that the Wanderers are doing far too little with their half-chances, and not enough to thwart the half-chances the clubs they face are generating.
Team of the Week
Read more about our Team of the Week here.
Goal of the Week
It wasn't the most skilful or crafty goal of the weekend, or even the match (that latter honour certainly goes to Craig Goodwin), but you can't go past the absolute cinema of a last-gasp match winner in a heated rivalry.
What the managers said
Mile Sterjovski (Macarthur FC): "We spend a lot of money on VAR and we see it consistently where, in my opinion, they get a lot of decisions wrong. They should just leave it up to the referees because it just leaves everybody more frustrated."
Arthur Diles (Melbourne Victory): "Unfortunately (the refereeing) is a part of the game we can't control. We shouldn't be talking about the refereeing and a poor decision. We should be talking about how great the football was from both teams, but in the end we're not."
Steve Corica (Auckland FC): "The penalty changed the game. I've seen those ones not given before. I said to the referee after the game that nobody knows the rules on handball. One week it can be given and another not. But the second goal conceded was poor defending from our side."
Click here for a full summary of post-game comments from each head coach.
Next week's fixtures
Macarthur's home game against Melbourne City could be the most interesting of the lot with both teams level on 20 points, just inside the top-six, and capable of producing all kinds of football for better and for worse.
It all leads into the annual Australia Day 'Big Blue', which never disappoints!
Bookmark next round's matches in your Favourites by visiting here.